Night Terrors
by Wesfanemt333
Summary: Post Minimal Loss. A little swearing. Updated 11-20-08
1. Chapter 1

_This story has been just begging to be written since I saw Minimal Loss. My first attempt at a Criminal Minds fiction. This story starts out shortly after the explosion. The only thing I'm changing from canon is the whole JJ/Will relationship/baby. Hasn't happened in my story. _

Aaron Hotchner looked around at the debris that used to be the Septarian's compound. The expression on his face was his typical poker face, very difficult to read. He watched as Spencer Reid and Emily Prentiss, both agents for his team embraced quickly. Derek Morgan stood off to the side, looking relieved. The ordeal was over, and his teammates were safe, although a little worse for the wear. He and Hotch had both heard Cyrus beating Prentiss, throwing her around the room. Morgan waited until Reid and Emily separated, before speaking up,

"I'm glad that's over. The ems crew is waiting for you two that way." He pointed to a safe area off to the distance, where flashing red and blue lights lit up the night sky. They could see the ambulance clearly, and Reid started walking that way. He was a little sore, but not about to argue with Morgan. He knew better. So did Emily, but her own innate stubbornness wouldn't allow it. She shook her head, ignoring the pounding headache that was already starting.

"I'm fine, Derek. An icepack and some Tylenol are all I'll need" Derek gave her an incredulous look.

"Girl, I cannot believe you just said that. You know we heard what Cyrus was doing to you." He waited, but Emily stood her ground. Derek was about to tell her to get her ass over there, when he was interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Saved by the bell." Emily was ready to head towards the jet, as Morgan talked quietly on his cell. He grinned, and hit a button,

"EMILY MARIA ELIZABETH PRENTISS!" Penelope Garcia's voice came out incredibly loud over the small speaker. "YOU GET YOURSELF TO THAT AMBULANCE NOW!" Emily froze in place. No one, outside of her immediate family, knew her middle names. It was a bit scary, the things Garcia was able to dig up. She sighed in resignation, acknowledging her defeat. She saw Hotch watching, and she could swear the man smiled quickly, before his face became expressionless again. She narrowed her eyes at him, walking slowly towards the waiting ambulance.

Spencer had already been cleared by the medical personnel, a few bruises, but he'd be fine. They cautioned him about precautions, and dismissed him. Emily hid a wince as the paramedics prodded her ribs gently. Aside from her head, that was the only thing that really hurt.

"I don't think any of your ribs are broken, Agent Prentiss. You should still get them x-rayed when you get back, though, just to be on the safe side." She nodded, having no intention of going through with that. She hated hospitals, with a passion.

"Are you going to wrap them?" She knew that was a common procedure and was surprised when the medic shook his head.

"They don't encourage that anymore. It can restrict breathing and cause worse problems. Just don't forget to see your regular doctor. And here's a few ice packs for the trip home." She thanked him, and exited the ambulance, nearly bumping Hotch with the door as she did. He offered to give her a hand down, and normally, she would have declined. She was sore, tired and more then ready to get home. They could not get going soon enough for her.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, but was only twenty minutes later, they were on the jet. Aaron watched his team settle into their seats. JJ had already claimed the bench, and Morgan was sitting across from Rossi, as they reclined. Reid and Prentiss were talking softly, probably going over the events of the past few days. When they'd finished, Spencer moved to stretch his limbs, and doze.

They were barely in the air, when Hotch noticed his team, except for him, were all sound asleep. A rare smile crept on his face, as he watched them, picking up on their quirks. Reid was murmuring something in his sleep, Hotch heard something about the DMV and registrations. Even in his sleep, he told random facts and statistics. Morgan was the only one with a light on near him. Aaron knew why and could understand. JJ was nearly in a fetal position, curled up on her left side. He could hear Dave snoring softly as he walked by. The paper he'd been reading laying on his chest. Prentiss was moving around restlessly, occasionally kicking out in front of her. That explained a few things. There was no one sitting across from her, a pattern that he'd noticed, but hadn't known why until now. Also, JJ always insisted on having two beds in whatever hotel they stayed at. Seeing the force with which Prentiss kicked the air in front of her, Hotch couldn't blame JJ in the least.

Aaron was headed back to his seat, near the front of the jet, when he noticed a change. Emily started moving quicker, moaning quietly. She was obviously having a nightmare, a fairly common occurrence for his team. She thrashed violently, and Hotch knew he'd need to wake her up. Otherwise, she'd end up hurting herself. He moved quickly to stand in front of her. He placed a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder, shaking her a little,

"Pre- Emily, wake up! Emily." He whispered urgently in her ear. Her eyes opened and before she realized fully where she was, her leg shot out. It caught Hotch in the shin, hard. He inhaled quickly, although he should have expected it. "Emily, it's me, Hotchner." He saw her big brown eyes widen comically as she came to terms with the fact that she'd just kicked her boss.

_To be continued? Let me know how you liked it, and if you want more. _


	2. Chapter 2

_My apologies for how long this has taken me to update. Writer's block and work made the process a lot slower than I like. And for the record's sake, I do not own or am any way affiliated with Criminal Minds. _

Emily Prentiss came out of her sleep violently, with a vicious kick to her boss's shin. Aaron maintained his perpetual poker face, but she still heard a quick and sharp intake of air. That sound brought her abruptly back to reality. '_Oh shit_!'. she thought. She couldn't believe she just did that. Emily glanced at Hotch's blank face, wondering if he was upset. He didn't seem to be, but that was just typical Hotch. He rarely showed emotion, even during times of crisis. It was one of the qualities that made him such an effective leader. She swallowed, before trying to speak,

"Oh my god, sir, I am so sorry." To Prentiss's surprise, Aaron actually smiled. Or at least she thought she saw a smile on his face. It could have been a grimace of pain, but she doubted it.

"Emily, we're not on a case right now, there's no need to call me sir." He was quiet for a few seconds before continuing, "Also, while you do have one hell of a kick, it's not that big of a deal." He held up his hand to stop her from interrupting. "This is hardly the first time this has happened to me. It seems to be par for the course." There was no doubt now that Hotch was at least somewhat amused. They both turned as a new voice entered the conversation,

"Did you know that all polar bears are left-handed?" Reid's voice was still slurred with sleep. Hotch walked over to him, noticing that the young man's eyes were firmly closed. "Obsessive compulsive disorder, commonly referred to ocd, affects about two percent of the population at any given time." Spencer's voice trailed off as he fell deeper asleep, his muttering becoming inaudible. Emily couldn't help giggling quietly, wincing as the motion bothered her bruised, if not cracked ribs.

"Damn, Hotch, this really bites. It even hurts to laugh." Hotch gave her a sympathetic look, as he'd had injuries to his ribs before. The pain was one he knew he'd never forget. He nodded, understandingly, knowing there wasn't much he could do to help his agent. But at least there were a few thing he could offer.

"I've been there before. Tell you what, I'll get some tea, and you can take a couple ibuprofen, and I have these as well." Hotch pulled out the ice packs he'd received from the paramedic, and activated it. He handed it to her, "After the tea's ready, I'll tell you all about the other interesting reactions to bad dreams the team's had. Myself included, along with Garcia." He almost laughed at the memory, his dark eyes still amused. Emily took the ice pack, not really feeling up to arguing. She knew Hotch was at least as stubborn as she was. Debating wouldn't help matters, make her feel any better, or change the outcome. She pressed the rapidly cooling pack to her forehead, letting it ease the throbbing. She could hear him rustling around in the small kitchen of the jet.

Soon enough, Hotchner was back at the small table, setting down two hot cups of tea. Emily looked at the flavor on the tea bags, chamomile. She was almost surprised that he remembered her fondness for that type of tea, especially when she was tired. It was a comfort thing, and the lack of caffeine made it easier for her to sleep after drinking it. He handed her a small bottle of Advil, watching silently to make sure she actually swallowed at least two.

"Now, Hotch, you said something about the others, and their night terrors?" Emily asked, as she waited for her tea to cool. Hotch sat down across from her, now that it was safe to do so. He answered her quietly, as not to wake the rest of the team.

"It's actually been a frequent occurrence, Emily. Shouldn't really be a surprise, considering the horrors we see. Everyone has bad dreams, and waking someone while they are in the midst of one can be hazardous to your health. I would be more worried if you weren't having nightmares. Take a look around at them." He pointed at Spencer, who was still fast asleep, lips moving but no noise coming forth, before he looked around the jet at the rest of his group. "Take Reid there, he's got a much stronger left hook than anyone would ever suspect. And Garcia, I can tell you from experience, those troll dolls hurt when they collide with your face." Prentiss's dark brown eyes were wide, she was having trouble thinking of Penelope, having a nightmare and hitting Hotch, their boss with one of her troll figures.

"Is that why she keeps so many of them at her desk? I wondered about that. They actually make decent weapons?" She tried not to laugh as the picture came into very clear focus in her mind's eye. She was not lacking in imagination, and the thought of the blond tech smacking the boss with one of her trolls was very amusing.

"The dolls may be plastic, but she had one in her hands, and she swung it by the hair. It got me right here, and left one heck of a bruise." Hotch answered her as he pointed to his right cheek. He'd gotten a lot of funny looks that day, but most of the people outside of the team didn't dare ask. Which was a relief then, even though he found it humorous now. "Now when it happens, we tend to just shrug it off, and ignore it. I've even been guilty of it a couple of times. Never with Haley, thankfully, but Gideon got the brunt of it once." He took a sip of the tea, enjoying the flavor. Emily had been drinking hers slowly, not even needing to add any sugar to it. He'd prepared it just right.

"It's good to know I'm not the exception to the rule then." Emily joked, feeling a bit more relaxed about it. Hotch smiled one of his very rare smiles at her,

"Not by a long shot, Emily." He took another drink from his mug, before he continued, "Why don't we talk about your dream? Was it about the past few days, or something else?" Emily shrugged, trying to be casual,

"It was . . a bit of everything the past few months. The last few cases have been rough on all of us, sir-Hotch." She corrected herself quickly. "I think this last one was just the icing on the cake. I can still see that woman's eyes, as she realized her daughter was dead."

_More to come, eventually. Comments are most welcome. I hope you've enjoyed it._


End file.
